something to do

The 3 keys to happiness are something to love, something to do, and something to look forward to. Who said that? I don’t know. I’ll look it up. But right now i want to focus on:

SOMETHING TO DO

I was having some anxiety issues during the first half of my day. I forget just how awful it is. Emotional pain. Strain in relationships. Self-loathing. Trying to control my thoughts. Trying to make myself relax. Talk myself out of it. Anyone who suffers from anxiety will know what I am talking about. (I think today it was chemical or just fatigue.) Anyway… once i got my mind focused on work (i forced myself to work on a database project) that anxiety went away.

I feel bad for people on disability, people in nursing homes, retired people, unemployed people… folks who do not have something meaningful or challenging to concentrate on.

This alone helped relieve anxiety. Oh, gosh. Prisons! Probably suffering there because so much time with nothing to do but think and stress and worry… So sad! (Trump has ruined that word, hasn’t he?) But it is.

We all need something to do. The intellect needs a project. Dear neuroscientists, please tell me what part of the brain I use when i’m problem-solving. This may be a key in treating addiction and anxiety. Perhaps it already is and I just don’t know it.

My mother played Bridge. That is good for the brain. Accountants who keep working are lucky. Do puzzles. I think I may do quadratic equations. I used to like algebra. Get out my old math book and just work some problems.